Head assembly of heat exchanger for vehicle

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a head assembly of a heat exchanger for a vehicle including heads each consisting of a plurality of head pieces coupled together in a laminated fashion, thereby being capable of achieving an easy manufacture thereof and a reduction in manufacturing costs while easily coping with a changed specification. The head assembly includes at least two heads spaced apart from each other, a plurality of tubes coupled between the heads in a laminated state and defined with fluid passages, respectively, and a plurality of centers each interposed between adjacent ones of the tubes and adapted to provide an improved heat exchange efficiency. Each of the heads includes at least two head pieces assembled together in a laminated state. A separator is interposed between the head pieces. Caps are coupled to opposite ends of the head pieces, respectively.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to a head assembly of a heat exchanger for a vehicle and a method for manufacturing the same, and more particularly to a head assembly which has a laminated structure to achieve an automatic manufacture and an improvement in productivity.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] Heat exchangers applied to vehicles mainly include a condenser, an evaporator, and a radiator. The condenser and evaporator are used for an air conditioner system whereas the radiator is used for the cooling of an engine.

[0005] The condenser and evaporator serve to heat-exchange a refrigerant used for the operation of an air conditioner with ambient air in a high temperature and pressure state or in a low temperature and pressure state, thereby liquidizing or evaporating the refrigerant, respectively. Thus, a cold air is generated by such operations of the condenser and evaporator. By the radiator, cooling water, which is heated to a high temperature while passing through cylinders included in the engine, conducts heat exchange with ambient air. That is, the radiator serves to cool the heated cooling water to a desired low temperature.

[0006] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a heat exchanger is illustrated which has the above mentioned configuration. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the heat exchanger, which is denoted by the reference numeral 10, includes a head assembly 11 for receiving a refrigerant to be heat-exchanged and circulating the heat-exchanged refrigerant.

[0007] The head assembly 11 includes at least two heads (only two heads in the illustrated cases) spaced apart from each other, a plurality of tubes 12 coupled between the heads in a laminated state and defined with fluid passages, respectively, a plurality of centers 14 each interposed between adjacent ones of the tubes 12 and adapted to provide an improved heat exchange efficiency, and end plates 15 adapted to protect the centers 14 respectively coupled to the uppermost and lowermost ones of the tubes 12.

[0008] Each head of the head assembly 11 has a refrigerant inlet and a refrigerant outlet at desired portions thereof, respectively. Also, caps 16 are coupled to the upper and lower ends of each head, respectively, in order to prevent any leakage of the refrigerant.

[0009] Each head is formed, at the inside portion thereof, with a plurality of tube mounting holes 17 uniformly spaced from one another along the length of the head. Tubes 12 are coupled to the tube mounting hole 17. A desired number of separators 18 are coupled to the outside portion of each head in order to allow the refrigerant to flow easily in a zigzag fashion.

[0010] Conventionally, such a head assembly comprises a plate-shaped head having tube holes for mounting tubes, and a semicircular tank having separator holes for mounting separators adapted to define a flow path for a refrigerant. The semicircular tank is coupled to the head to receive the refrigerant.

[0011] Recently, a head assembly has been proposed, which is formed by preparing a cylindrical tube cut to have a desired length, and forming tube holes at the inside portion of the cylindrical tube while forming separator mounting holes for mounting separators adapted to define a flow path for a refrigerant.

[0012] In accordance with this method, the manufacture of the head assembly is made under the condition in which the size of the head assembly is previously set in accordance with a desired heat exchange capacity or the specification of a vehicle to which the head assembly is to be applied. For this reason, different manufacturing means such as different molds should be used for different specifications, respectively. This results in an increase in manufacturing costs.

[0013] Furthermore, since separators should be coupled to the outside portion of the head, there is a high possibility of poor results in a brazing process conducted during or after the assembling process for the head assembly. This may result in a degradation in the quality of the head assembly such as a leakage of refrigerant.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above mentioned problems, and an object of the invention is to provide a head assembly including heads each consisting of a plurality of head pieces coupled together in a laminated fashion, thereby being capable of achieving an easy manufacture thereof and a reduction in manufacturing costs while easily coping with a changed specification.

[0015] In accordance with the present invention, this object is accomplished by providing a head assembly of a heat exchanger for a vehicle serving to receive a refrigerant to be heat-exchanged and to circulate the heat-exchanged refrigerant and including at least two heads spaced apart from each other, a plurality of tubes coupled between the heads in a laminated state and defined with fluid passages, respectively, and a plurality of centers each interposed between adjacent ones of the tubes and adapted to provide an improved heat exchange efficiency, wherein each of the heads includes at least two head pieces assembled together in a laminated state; further a separator interposed between the head pieces.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The above objects, and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent after a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

[0017]FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a heat exchanger to which a conventional head assembly is applied;

[0018]FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the conventional head assembly;

[0019]FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view partially illustrating a heat exchanger to which a head assembly according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied;

[0020]FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating an assembled state of the head assembly used in the heat exchanger of FIG. 3;

[0021]FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view partially illustrating a heat exchanger to which a head assembly according to a second embodiment of the present invention is applied;

[0022]FIG. 6 is a sectional view illustrating an assembled state of the head assembly used in the heat exchanger of FIG. 5;

[0023]FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view partially illustrating a heat exchanger to which a head assembly according to a third embodiment of the present invention is applied;

[0024]FIG. 8 is a sectional view illustrating an assembled state of the head assembly used in the heat exchanger of FIG. 7;

[0025]FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view partially illustrating a heat exchanger to which a head assembly according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention is applied;

[0026]FIG. 10 is a sectional view illustrating an assembled state of the head assembly used in the heat exchanger of FIG. 9;

[0027]FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view partially illustrating a heat exchanger to which a head assembly according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention is applied; and

[0028]FIG. 12 is a sectional view illustrating an assembled state of the head assembly used in the heat exchanger of FIG. 11.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0029] Now, preferred embodiments of the present invention adapted to accomplish the above mentioned object of the present invention will be described in conjunction with the annexed drawings.

[0030] Generally, a heat exchanger, which is denoted by the reference numeral 100 in FIGS. 3 to 12, serves to receive a refrigerant to be heat-exchanged and to circulate the heat-exchanged refrigerant. The heat exchanger 100 basically includes a head assembly 110 having at least two heads (only two heads in the illustrated cases) spaced apart from each other, a plurality of tubes 102 coupled between the heads in a laminated state and defined with fluid passages, respectively, and a plurality of centers 104 each interposed between adjacent ones of the tubes 102 and adapted to provide an improved heat exchange efficiency.

[0031] The present invention is adapted to provide an improved configuration for such a head assembly in order to achieve an advantage in terms of the manufacture of the head assembly and a reduction in manufacturing costs while easily coping with a modified specification of the head assembly. To this end, the head assembly 110 according to the present invention includes heads each consisting of at least two head pieces 111, and a separator 112 interposed between the head pieces 111. The head pieces 111 are assembled together in a laminated state under the condition in which the separator 112 is interposed between the head pieces 111. Caps are fitted around opposite ends of the heads, respectively.

[0032] In the following description, corresponding elements in the first through fifth embodiments of the present invention are denoted by the same reference numeral.

[0033]FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a first embodiment of the present invention in which the head assembly includes two head pieces 111 and one separator 112 for each head.

[0034] In accordance with the first embodiment, each head piece 111 is formed with a plurality of tube mounting holes 115 uniformly spaced from one another along the length of the head piece 111. Each tube mounting hole 115 has the form of a slot. A tube 102 is coupled to each tube mounting hole 115 at one end thereof.

[0035] The separator 112 includes a disk-shaped body 117, and a pair of engagement protrusions 113 protruded from the body 117 at opposite sides of the body 117.

[0036] Engagement grooves 114 are formed at each end of each head piece 111 so that they are engagable with the engagement protrusions 113 of the separator 112.

[0037] In the second embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, a separator having a structure different from that of the first embodiment is used.

[0038] That is, the separator 112 includes a cylindrical body 117, a partition wall 118 formed at the central portion of the cylindrical body 117, and annular steps 119 outwardly protruded from the central portion of the cylindrical body 117 to serve as seats for respective coupling ends of the head pieces 111 to be coupled to the separator 112.

[0039] In the third embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, a separator having a structure different from that of the above mentioned embodiments is used, in which the head pieces 111 are fitted in the separator at facing ends thereof.

[0040] That is, the separator 112 includes a cylindrical body 117, and a partition wall 118 formed at the central portion of the cylindrical body 117. In this case, the facing ends of the head pieces 111 are fitted in the separator 112 at opposite sides of the separator 112.

[0041] In the first through third embodiments, the separator 112 may be used as a cap when it is coupled to the upper or lower end of each head.

[0042] In the fourth embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10, each head includes a plurality of head pieces fitted together in a laminated fashion. In this case, the separator 112, which serves to couple adjacent heads together, has a structure similar to that of the head pieces. That is, elements of the head assembly, that is, the head pieces and separator, have a modular structure. Each head piece 111 has, at its central portion, a slot-shaped tube mounting hole 115 for receiving an end of a tube 102. Each head piece 111 also has annular steps 120 each serving as a seat for an end of another head piece 111 or the separator 112 to be coupled to the head piece 111.

[0043] In similar, the separator 112 includes a cylindrical body 117, and annular steps 119 each serving as a seat for an end of a head piece 111 to be coupled to the separator 112.

[0044] In the fifth embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, each head includes a plurality of head pieces fitted together in a laminated fashion. In this case, the separator 112, which serves to couple adjacent heads together, has a structure similar to that of the head pieces. That is, elements of the head assembly, that is, the head pieces and separator, have the same modular structure. Each head piece 111 has grooves at opposite ends thereof, respectively. Each groove of one head piece 111 forms a tube mounting hole 115 for receiving an end of a tube 102, in cooperation with the facing groove of another head piece 111 coupled to the one head piece 111. Although each groove has a width corresponding to half the width of each tube mounting hole in the illustrated case, each tube mounting hole may be formed by a groove formed only at one end of each head piece 111 (the coupling end 125 in FIG. 11) while having the same width as the tube mounting hole 115.

[0045] As apparent from the above description, the head assembly 110 of the present invention includes heads each including head pieces 111 coupled together in a laminated state, a separator 112 coupled between the heads, and caps respectively coupled to the upper end of one head and the lower end of the other head.

[0046] Each head piece 111 has a plurality of tube mounting holes 115 or one tube mounting hole 115 for receiving an end of one tube 102. A center 104 is interposed between adjacent tubes 102. Thus, a heat exchanger 100 is formed.

[0047] In the first through third embodiments of the present invention, the head assembly 110 includes heads each having two elongated head pieces 111 and one separator 112. The separator 112 may have engagement protrusions 113 respectively protruded from a disk-shaped body 117 at opposite sides of the body 117. Alternatively, the separator 112 includes a cylindrical body 117, and a partition wall 118 integrally formed in the cylindrical body 117. By virtue of such a structure, it is possible to solve problems resulting from a separation of the separator 112 or leakage of refrigerant.

[0048] That is, the engagement protrusions 113 of the separator 112 are engaged with the engagement grooves 114 formed at facing ends of the head pieces 111 to be coupled together. Alternatively, the facing ends of the head pieces 111 are fitted around the separator 112 while being seated on the annular steps 119 outwardly protruded from the cylindrical body 117. Alternatively, the facing ends of the head pieces 111 are in contact with the partition wall 118 formed at the central portion of the body 117. Accordingly, the coupling of the head pieces to the separator 112 can be easily and accurately made. Thus, it is possible to easily manufacture the head assembly while easily conducting the assembling process for the head assembly.

[0049] In the fourth and fifth embodiments, the head pieces 111 and separator 112 have the same modular structure. In these cases, the head assembly 110 is formed by coupling head pieces 111 together in a laminated state while interposing the separator 112 at a position where the fluid path is to be changed.

[0050] Since the head pieces 111 and separator 112 have the same modular structure in the fourth and fifth embodiments, there is an advantage in that the head assembly can easily cope with the specification or heat exchange capacity of the vehicle, to which the head assembly is applied, by varying the number of laminated head pieces 111.

[0051] In the fourth and fifth embodiments, the coupling ends of each head piece 111 or the separator 112 have symmetrical steps 120 or 110, respectively. Accordingly, it is possible to accurately assemble the head pieces 111 and separator 112 together while preventing any separation of those head pieces 111 and separator 112.

[0052] Although tube grooves may be formed at respective coupling ends 125 of the head piece 111, in place of the tube hole 115 formed at the central portion of the head piece 111, they form a complete tube hole between adjacent head pieces 111. Accordingly, there is no problem associated with the insertion of tubes 102.

[0053] After the head pieces 111 and separator 112 are assembled together, the caps are coupled to opposite ends of the heads, respectively. Thus, the head assembly 110 is completely formed.

[0054] As apparent from the above description, the head assembly includes heads each consisting of at least two head pieces, and a separator interposed between the head pieces. The head pieces are assembled together in a laminated state under the condition in which the separator is interposed between the head pieces. In particular, the separator is configured so that it is prevented from being separated from the head assembly. By virtue of such a configuration, it is possible to easily manufacture the head assembly while reducing the manufacturing costs and preventing a degradation in quality. In addition, the head assembly can positively cope with variations in the specification or heat exchange capacity of the vehicle, to which the head assembly is applied.

[0055] Although the preferred embodiments of the invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A head assembly of a heat exchanger for a vehicle serving to receive a refrigerant to be heat-exchanged and to circulate the heat-exchanged refrigerant and including at least two heads spaced apart from each other, a plurality of tubes coupled between the heads in a laminated state and defined with fluid passages, respectively, and a plurality of centers each interposed between adjacent ones of the tubes and adapted to provide an improved heat exchange efficiency, wherein each of the heads includes at least two head pieces assembled together in a laminated state; further a separator interposed between the head pieces.
 2. The head assembly according to claim 1, wherein: each of the heads includes two head pieces each formed with a plurality of tube mounting holes uniformly spaced from one another along the length of the head piece and adapted to receive an end of a tube; the separator comprises a disk-shaped body, and a pair of engagement protrusions protruded from the body at opposite sides of the body; and each of the head pieces is provided, at each end thereof, with engagement grooves engagable with the engagement protrusions of the separator.
 3. The head assembly according to claim 1, wherein: each of the heads includes two head pieces each formed with a plurality of tube mounting holes uniformly spaced from one another along the length of the head piece and adapted to receive an end of a tube; the separator comprises a cylindrical body, a partition wall formed at a central portion of the cylindrical body, and annular steps outwardly protruded from the central portion of the cylindrical body to serve as seats for respective coupling ends of the head pieces;
 4. The head assembly according to claim 1, wherein: each of the heads comprises a plurality of head pieces fitted together in a laminated fashion, the head pieces having the same modular structure as the separator; and each of the head pieces has a tube mounting hole.
 5. The head assembly according to claim 2, wherein separators having the same structure as the separator are coupled to respective ends of the head pieces other than the coupling ends so that they serve as caps, respectively.
 6. The head assembly according to claim 4, wherein the tube mounting of each head piece comprises a slot formed at a central portion of the head piece.
 7. The head assembly according to claim 4, wherein each of the head pieces has grooves at both coupling ends thereof, each of the grooves mating with that of another head piece coupled to the head piece, thereby forming the tube mounting hole.
 8. The head assembly according to claim 4, wherein the tube mount hole of each head piece comprises a groove formed at one coupling end of the head piece. 